


Concerning Flame

by FeaRauko



Series: The Seku [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Aliens, Bullying, Earth, Fantasy, Foster Care, Magic, Multi, Orphans, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Science Fiction, human origins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-22
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-10-14 08:55:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17505509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeaRauko/pseuds/FeaRauko
Summary: Kali-Ona and her sister are running. Their parents are dead. Dovid is helping them escape. When they are almost caught, Dovid tells them he will catch up and shoves them ahead, causing Kali-Ona to stumble and fall with her sister. When she stands, she finds herself in a completely new place. The scenery is not quite like anything she has seen before.Gradually, she learns how to survive in this new place. As she begins to understand the language, she learns that this strange place where she and her sister have found themselves...is called "Earth."





	1. PROLOGUE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Letter from the author:
> 
> First of all, thank you for giving this story a chance. I know that most of us are here for the fandom works. So really...thank you.
> 
> Secondly, I feel I should explain something. This is not just a story to me. You see...in the way that some children create imaginary friends...as a child, I created a world. This world was full. It was full of people, stories, legends, folklore, songs, politics, religions, languages...and it was all very real and special to me. 
> 
> I also want to note that many of the stories and people you will read about, are a somewhat allegorical representation of people and events from my life in this world, because your world and my world are intertwined and my universe is not so much an escape from yours as it is a supplement, wrapping itself around yours.
> 
> I learned (more slowly than I should have) not to talk to people about this larger world, because it was beginning to seem to them that I could not tell the difference between fantasy and reality. I could, by the way. But I never stopped holding these people inside of me, whether I talked about them or not. 
> 
> And so...I feel exposed. I am showing you my soul. I am telling you stories that are part of me and of people who have been with me since I can remember.
> 
> If you are reading this, know that it means very much to me for many reasons. 
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> Vaisi Kali-Ona Dani Fealena Narraukoiel Gakhagnash

 

 

They told me that when I was born, it was like a miniature sun had come into the room, a cursed, burning, destructive thing. Within moments of leaving the womb, I burned so hot that no one could hold me. I was so bright that the doctor who delivered me never did regain his full sight. No one could come close. I was left on the floor of the birthing room where I had been dropped, for they could do nothing else. I am told that my mother and father wept because they could not hold or even look at their new baby. I was called an evil misfortune, a bad omen. The area was evacuated and my cries went ignored as they waited for it to end.

On the third night, my brother, Andramo, let his curiosity win over the warnings. He always was fearless. While our parents slept, he snuck into the birthing room where they had left me. The room was charred around where I lay. He ran to me. I had not changed, but he could see me. He sat on the floor next to me. He touched me, but he did not burn. He pulled me into his lap, and as he held me, my temperature slowly cooled and the blinding light emitted reduced itself to a warm glow.

I am the first child in the line of Ranusamen to have received my earned name before they even knew what gender to call me. They called me Ona: light. It was an understatement, but it fit. They were also wrong however. Children of Ranusamen are often born with an affinity toward either the element of fire or water. When I was older they told me, with no doubt in their voices, that I was a fire-user, but I am not. It was my brother who had been born as a child of fire. When he held me, he became its wielder; because I...I AM fire.

My name is Kali-Ona.

 


	2. LOST

 

_ Am I lost? Probably not _

_ To be lost, there must be somewhere that I should be _

_ And I have nowhere to go _

 

Ugmph! The force of Dovid’s shove had knocked her to the ground. She had to get up. She had to run! Kali-Ona hugged her little sister to her and scrambled to her feet to run into the ship. 

Wait...huh? The ship was gone. In fact, everyone was gone, and...what the...trees? She was not known for being the most observant kid out there, but she was pretty sure that she had just been inside. Now, she was definitely outside. How in the world? Kali-Tona squirming in her arms brought her out of her daze.

“Oh!” Kali-Ona all but dropped her. This wasn’t good. In her eagerness, she had forgotten everyone’s most important rule. “Sorry, Tona, I...you okay? I...uh…” She shook her head and reset. Focus. They were in danger. “We have to run.” But to where? Where  _ were _ they? They were just at the hangar. Now they most definitely were not. They had been almost to the vessel. Dovid was helping them esca...Dovid...Dovid!

“Dovid!” Kali-Ona frantically scanned the area. Dovid was in trouble. He was helping them. He had told them to run run and he would catch up. He pushed her. There was some kind of explosion and...what had happened after that? Did they leave him behind? Had she blacked out? Had she somehow flown Dovid’s vessel to...wherever this was...and been so out of it that she forgot? Not likely. There was no ship to be seen. Dovid just...pushed her. There was a light...and when she hit the ground, she was here. 

She called for Dovid a few more times, but was afraid that someone else would hear her. She wanted to look for him, but how? She didn’t even know where to begin. And if someone  _ had _ taken him, what would she even do when she found him? He had wanted them to escape. They had...but without him.  What should they do now? Should they run? She didn’t even know where they were or where they could go. Their home was burned. Their parents were...oh...

Moti...Peiti…They were…

Nope, not time for that yet. She’d cry later. First, they had to get safe. Most likely, the best thing to do would be to figure out where they were and then go from there. That’s all she could think to do anyway. She decided to carefully search the area.

She looked down at Kali-Tona. “Tona, please stay with me okay? Don’t run off. Just follow me. Okay?” She waited for Kali-Tona to nod. “Good, and be quiet so the people don’t find us.” Kali-Tona almost started to cry, but sniffed and nodded that she understood instead. 

Kali-Ona sighed and looked back up, picked a direction, and started walking, for the first time, paying some real attention to their surroundings. There were so many trees here that their fallen leaves covered the ground in place of grass. Some of the trees were larger, but most of them were small and seemed very young. The trees were kind of weird, too. Instead of leaves, a lot of them had strange, pointy things, kind of like long, green...needles...like they had thousands of green needles. Weird. She gazed up at them and then through them into the sky. It looked weird today, like it was too blue. 

She came to an area that was low, flat, and a little more open. It wasn’t very wide, but it looked like it was very long and wound through the trees...maybe it was an old riverbed? On the other side, the ground sloped upward and quickly approached a massive tangle of vines and brush that stretched out to the right and left as far as she could see (which, admittedly, was not very far thanks to all the trees). It might be a good place to hide, but a lot of the vines had sharp claws on them. She could have gotten through/into them fine, but she wasn’t sure Kali-Tona would manage. She was several seasons younger than Kali-Ona and was still unsteady and clumsy. That aside, Kali-Ona had never seen vines with claws. Were they really just vines? Why did a plant need claws? Was it actually a weird animal just being really still to lure in unsuspecting prey? Well, no, thank you. They had been through enough that day and being eaten by some weird vine-animal was not going to be added to the list if she could help it. 

Kali-Ona decided to go left, following the line of the thicket so that she could find her way back to this spot (wherever that was) should she need to...but keeping what she thought to be a safe distance from the clawed vines. Straight ahead, something blue became visible. Not the sky, obviously, but almost the same color. It was a tall, cylindrical building with no windows or doors that she could see and a silver...something...around it. The silver something was about twice her height, and had long, slender pieces woven together to make a diamond pattern until the very top where the pieces were cut and twisted together into points. It didn’t seem to serve any purpose. It was just...a strange wall that you could see through. Whoever built it was not using it to support food vines or climbing flowers. Maybe it was a weird decoration for the big blue building. Kali-Ona did not think it was very pretty, but some people did have odd taste.

Kali-Ona wanted to look at the building a little more. Walking around to the left was blocked by another mass of vines and brush. Not an option. Going to the right took her rather close to the original vines that she was avoiding. However, to the right, there was a small trail between the vines and the silver something that surrounded the big, blue building. She decided to take it.

She made it around one corner and halfway to the next of the strange, silver wall, which seemed to be square while the big blue building was perfectly cylindrical. Once on that side, she could see a ladder going up the side of the building. Maybe there was a door on top? Straight ahead, on the far side of the building from where she began, was what seemed to be a road of sorts. To her right, the ground raised up. It didn’t gently raise in a slope, but more like a cliff, a miniature one that was only about as tall as she was, leaving her in a long narrow gap, about 10 feet wide, between the ground wall and the silver something.

She noticed a small shelter. It was not built by carpenters or to be a permanent home. Rather, it looked like a traveller had once leaned some fallen limbs and debris against the ground wall to make a place to stay for the night. She looked back at the way she had come. The wall of vines with claws had ended at the back corner of the silver something. She was still a little close to it for her comfort. However, she thought, if this spot had been safe enough for the traveller, it was probably safe enough for them too; and she was tired. The shelter would keep her and Tona hidden, but was close enough to the blue building and the road that maybe she would see somebody to ask for help (or at least find out where they were). Kali-Ona crawled into the shelter and sat down. She motioned for Kali-Tona to follow. The younger sister just shook her head.

“Tona, please, we need to hide.”

“Moti. Peiti.” She pointed towards the road.

“Tona, they’re not there. Please…”

“Moti! Uh. Uh!”

“Tona, shhh shhhh…”

“PEITI!!”

Kali-Ona decided to break the rule again, reaching out to her sister and pulling her into the shelter with her. She pulled Kali-Tona into her lap, hugging her, trying to quiet her. Instead, she began crying too.

They were lost. Their parents were dead. She had no idea what had happened to her brother or Dovid. Tona was in her lap crying and begging for parents they would never see again. And she was every rule about not touching people, which she really shouldn’t do. 

Kali-Ona ran her fingers over the bracelets on her wrists that kept the fire Inside. They were intact. Good. She really wasn't even supposed to touch Kali-Tona, but it was hard. Not just now, but always. Tona was young, and she didn't get it yet. She didn't understand yet that she was supposed to be afraid of Kali-Ona. It had been a long time since she had burned anyone. The seals on her wrists, ankles, and neck saw to that, but still...

She looked at Kali-Tona in her lap. Just this once would be okay right? It’s not like anyone was around to...Ona cried harder. It was so sudden. This morning, everything and everyone were fine. It was just like any normal morning. But now...she had no idea where she was, what had happened to the others, or what would happen next.

The world grew dark. Slowly, leaning against the ground wall, crying, hugging her little sister, Kali-Ona fell asleep.

* * * 

Kali-Ona woke to a rustling sound beside her. It took about .7 seconds for her to jolt out of her sleepy state and place Tona defensively behind her back while she faced the potential threat. She looked up to see a boy, about her age, with dirty blond hair and blue...or maybe green...eyes staring at her from where he crouched in the entrance.

“Um, hoo ar yu? And wat ar yu dueeng in mai haidaot?”

Now please understand, Kali-Ona was proficient in all three of the common tongues of The Seku...and spoke a conversational level of several local minor languages. Whatever this kid was speaking...was nothing that she knew.


	3. DISCOVERY

_Morning cartoons._

_Breakfast._

_Find some strange girls in the woods._

_You know...the typical day._

 

Saturdays were the best. Saturdays meant no school. For Darren, no school meant that he could be outside. He finished his cereal, rushed to put his bowl in the sink, grabbed his backpack (not the school one...his...well...the one he liked), and started running for the door.

“You going to the woods? Hey, don’t run in the house.”

Darren nodded. “Oh, sorry. And yes ma’am.”

“Okay. Don’t go too far.” Darren’s aunt called out behind him, “and watch out for snakes!”

And Darren was gone. He laughed as he bounded down the porch steps. Watch out for snakes. She always said that. Darren thought that was kind of a weird thing for her to feel like she needed to remind him to do. Did most people walk around like, “Naw, I’m going to do my best to ignore the snakes and not watch out for dangerous things at all!” Oh well.

The “too far” warning however, was probably fair. There weren’t any fences around most sides of their property. The boundaries supposedly had something to do with the streams and creeks, but there were so many of them running through the woods that Darren didn’t really know which ones actually marked property lines. To Darren, “too far” meant “so far that you get lost and can’t find your way back.” However, since he knew these woods like the back of his hand and always followed the streams to mark his path whenever he wandered somewhere new...well, let’s just say that he and his aunt might not have agreed on how far “too far” actually was.

Darren went east today. It wasn’t his favorite area exactly. Most of their woods had a lot of interesting hollows and ravines, freshwater springs, caves...this area was somewhat bland. But Darren kinda liked it anyway, ‘cause it was...cozy. You see, this area was harder to get into because almost no matter where you entered, there was about fifty feet of underbrush to fight through. Darren had a few paths but the adults wouldn’t have been able to fit and had to go the long way around. Perks of being ten (or really probably more of just being so familiar with the land around him). Actually, Darren took a certain level of satisfaction and pride in knowing the exact steps to take to be able to weave through all the vines and brush while barely having to slow down.

Anyway, point was that nobody else really came here, and that made it feel like it was his. It was a large part of why he liked it here. Once you _did_ get through the underbrush, these woods were actually fairly open and easy to navigate. They were pretty flat except for a constant gentle slope that led away from their road and that thicket that acted as a barrier between the road and the rest of these woods. The area felt secluded, secret, his.

It turned out (he had realized recently), this area was on one of his neighbors’ land; but they were cool and friends with his aunt, so whatever. Darren ran parallel to the thicket, towards the big blue water tower. He hadn’t been up there in a while. There was a sort of high ground between the water tower and their road (which met the main dirt road near there...but he wasn’t allowed to cross that road. That was definitely considered “too far”). Last time he was there, on the water tower side of the high ground, Darren had used the short drop off as a wall to lean some branches and other stuff he could find against it for a makeshift shelter. He had “hideouts” like this all over the woods. Some were better than others.

He made his way around the right side of the water tower and toward his hideout. It was spring, blackberry season. It was just time that they were starting to get ripe. There was a patch near here. His plan was to stash his backpack in the hideout before going to pick some. He bent into the entrance of his hideout...and froze. What the...

There were two girls sleeping in there. One looked about his age. The other was a toddler. He had never seen them before. They definitely weren’t his neighbors that owned this land. Darren removed his backpack and crouched down onto his heels. The leaves made a crunching sound beneath his feet.

The older girl’s eyes flew open. She dumped the younger one out of her lap and crouched in front of her facing Darren. They stared at each other. Darren wasn’t quite sure what to say.

“Um, who are you? And what are you doing in my hideout?” The girl just drew her eyebrows together and cocked her head in response, while spreading her arms out like she was protecting the girl behind her. She reminded Darren of a stray kitten he had found once. She looked scared, confused, sorta cute, and like she would most definitely try to bite him if he got any closer. And like with the kitten, Darren was instantly determined that she was going to like him. He took one step back to give her some space and sat cross-legged on the ground.

“Hey, it’s okay. So, what’s your name?”

She just kept staring. She was starting to look a little less scared but even more confused. Behind her, the younger girl was finally waking up as well. Darren looked around, wracking his brain for any neighbors he knew around here who had kids his age.

“Where do you live? Why were you sleeping out here?”

The girl narrowed her eyes and finally answered, “Vahiri ya ta tu?”

Um, okay. This was getting weirder and weirder.

“Vahiri ya ta tu? Djoosut ya ta le ain tuhi suhaip leinudainug.” She looked like she was going to cry. “Ainusuteiainutlulyu, ya ta te hiri cheitu eilul ilusi le goni...Vahiri ya ta tu?!”

Darren held up his hands, “Hey, hey it’s okay! Calm down. It’s okay. Don’t be upset. Um…” Darren looked down. Seeing his backpack, a thought occurred to him. “Ah, are you hungry?”

The girl sat down and put her forehead against her knees. With one of her arms she scooped up the younger girl who was now trying to get out from behind her and pulled her into her lap.

“Look, just wait here. I’m going to go pick some blackberries. I’ll be right back.” He pulled a plastic sack out of his backpack and hurried off. It didn’t take long since they were close. But it was still early in the season and he was only able to get a couple handfuls.

“Hey wait!” He had returned to see the two girls leaving, heading deeper into the woods. Seriously, where did they come from? There was basically nothing that way until you got to his house. “Hey, look I got blackberries. Want some?” He proudly held up his bag. Blackberries were his favorite. If this didn’t make her feel better and win her over, nothing would.

She cautiously walked back up to him and peered into the bag. She cocked her head and looked back up at him. Her eyebrows were drawn together in a confused look.

“Oh, come on! How do you not know what blackberries are? Okay, you’re definitely not from East Texas. Oh man...” Darren plopped onto the ground and sighed. “Look…” He took one out of the bag, held it up for her to see then ate it. “Mmmm, it’s good. See? Here.” He held the bag out to her again. She seemed to get it.

He watched her try one. Her eyes got big, and Darren watched with satisfaction as a smile slowly crept across her face. Finally. She must have liked it. Ha ha, well duh. Of course she did. Who doesn’t like blackberries? She pointed to the younger girl and held out her hand. “Meiyu ya ku-kali?”

“Yeah, here. That’s why I got them.” He held out the whole bag.  “I'm Darren by the way.” He pointed to himself, “Darren.” Then he pointed to her.

“D-darrenn?…Ah! Ko neimi tei? Ko lu Darren.” She accepted the bag, passed it to the toddler after taking a couple, then smiled and pointed to herself proudly, “Ya tu Kaliona.”

“Um, Yatu?” Darren asked pointing at her. That was an odd name. She cracked up laughing.

“Fei, fei…” She cleared her throat and tapped her chest. “Ka-li-o-na… Kali-Ona.” She pointed to her companion and said slowly, “Kali-Tona.”

Darren smiled broadly. Now they were getting somewhere. “Kaliona, Kalitona... nice to meet you.”

Kali-Ona began to tear up through her smile. And then, instead of just eating her blackberries like a normal person, she got down on her hands and knees and put her face in the dirt. Huh? After a second, she nudged the little girl who soon did the same thing.

“Woah, hey! Are you okay??” They didn’t move. Were they...bowing? “Uuuhhh, why are you…? Okay, I guess that’s...whatever.” Darren wasn’t sure what to do, so did the same thing. Might as well. He wasn’t quite sure why, but it just sort of seemed right. Suddenly, Darren heard a familiar voice calling into the woods.

“Darrennn! Hey, Darren, if you can hear me your aunt says you need to come home! Daaarrreennnnn!” It was the lady who lived in the house nearby.

“Okay!” He jumped up and faced toward his neighbor’s voice. “I hear you! Tell her I’m on my way!” He looked back at the two girls to see them running away.

“Hey wait!” he called out to them. They paused and looked back at him. He thought for a moment. Maybe Mrs. Allson would know who they were. If he could get them to follow him…

“Come with me.” He made a motion for them to follow him. Kali-Ona just stared at him while restraining Kali-Tona from running at him. “Oh, come oooon...” he said holding out his hands. Kali-Ona seemed to get it, but looked wary. Even so, she spoke a few quiet words to Kali-Tona and slowly began to follow him. Darren smiled. Good.

Darren was determined. She would see. He would figure out how to show her that she didn’t have to be afraid of him.

He still had that kitten by the way. Her name was _Mellon_ _._


	4. A FLASH OF LIGHT

 

_This light again? What the Dji-oul..._

 

Kali-Ona adjusted Cali-Tona on her back to crawl up the drop off that the shelter was made into. Carrying Tona made her uncomfortable. She wasn’t supposed to do that. She briefly cringed at how much trouble she was going to be in and then choked back a sob, realizing that she wouldn’t be in trouble at all because her parents were dead.

Darren, who had already climbed up, reached down to offer here a hand, which she did her best to politely convey that she didn’t want. It was okay. He didn’t seem to know better.

Once at the top, Kali-Ona watched the back of Darren’s head as she followed him through the trees, weaving around some stray vines with teeth. She noted that while Darren was careful not to snag himself on them, he also didn’t seem too worried about them. That was good to know, but she was uncomfortable for other reasons. She didn’t like it...following a stranger, but she had no idea what else to do. And, well...the thing was...he seemed nice. She needed nice. She _really_ needed nice.

She told Tona to hang on as they climbed down another ledge, onto a smaller road that she could see connected to the one she had seen last night but set her down, finally, once they were on the ground. Darren began walking up the short, grassy embankment on the other side of the road. Kali-Ona froze. She hadn’t thought this through.

She looked down at Cali-Tona standing next to her. What would she do if this boy were leading them to someone hostile. He seemed nice enough, but that didn’t always mean much. On the other hand, what was her plan if she didn’t follow him? Hide in the trees? She didn’t even know where they were. She didn’t know the terrain. She was a decent hunter and knew what plants were edible...but nothing here was familiar. How did she even get here?

She was scared. She was a fighter, but but she was also young. And if they were hostile, _even_ if she was somehow able to fight her way out, there was no way she’d be able to protect Kali-Tona too. There was no way she could know for sure that she could trust Darren. That was not the debate she was having with herself. Rather, she was trying to decide where the _greater_ risk lay. Did she hope for the best with Darren and wherever he was taking her? Or did she hope for the best on her own in a strange place with no food, water, and no idea what kinds of dangers surrounded her or even an idea of what was and wasn’t dangerous.

By this point, Darren had noticed her hesitation and come back for her. He looked at her, and his face was...sad. He looked sad. And worried. He looked like it bothered him almost as much as her that she was scared.

“Hei, itus oukei. Ai juzt uant tu hellp.” She sighed, wishing she could understand him. All of the warning trumpets were sounding in her mind, but even then, she just couldn’t make herself afraid of someone who looked so so concerned. She was nearly about to decide to give in and trust him, when he reached out and took her hand.

Everything went white. She couldn’t see a thing. It was happening again, like when Dovid pushed her. She waited for the lightning. But it didn’t come.

Instead, she felt the air around her….really felt it. It was like a breeze, but different. It was more...substantial...as though she could have run her fingers through it, played in it, held onto it if she wanted. She swore she could feel every individual molecule of the air that she breathed in. She was also aware of the contact of Darren’s hand around hers. However, it was difficult to call it “contact.” It was hard to tell if their hands were touching, or not at all, or if their hands were simply now part of each other. It was disorienting, but not unpleasant. And then the contact was gone.

The light faded, and she and Darren stood staring at each other with mouths agape. At least he looked as confused as she felt...and not hurt. He didn’t look hurt, which was good, because she never knew with her. But this was not normal. She had never been allowed much contact...but that was because of the fire. That was because she might burn someone should the wardings fail. This...this was new. She didn’t know what to make of it.

Darren continued to stare at her, his wide eyes finally farrowing a bit. He stepped closer and tilted his head. And he was smiling.

Darren was the one to finally break the silence. “Dud...wut thu heil wuz thaat?”

 

***

 

 _What was that?_ Darren had reached out for her hand. He didn’t know why, but she looked so scared, and he just hadn’t known what else to do. That’s when everything shifted.

The world went white. For a moment, there had been nothing, and then, fire. It was as though fire was coursing through him, pouring into him from where he had wrapped his hand around hers. It didn’t burn though. It just felt...warm. It felt like...like this was supposed to be what fire felt like. It was like fire had always been this way, but for some reason, he hadn’t been able to perceive it properly until this moment. It just felt like energy, like life. And where they touched, it felt like the mingling of energies, like fire and oxygen feeding into each other and consuming each other. It felt intense, and it felt good, and frightening. He let go.

He stared at her wide-eyed, wondering if she was okay, if she had known that would happen, if it was maybe normal for her. She looked as confused as he did, her eyes seemingly searching his face for the same information.  _Huh..._

_Weird._

_Cool._

_Like, really cool._

He maintained eye contact and stepped closer, but careful that eye contact was the only contact. “Dude, what the hell was that??”

She didn’t say anything, but let out a shaky laugh in response. Darren felt giddy. He had no idea what was going on, who these girls were, or where they had come from...but he was pretty sure that this was the coolest thing that had ever happened to him. He was also pretty sure that he would be leaving out this part of the story whenever they got back to the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to anyone giving this story a chance. I'd love to hear what you think about it. Please let me know if something is confusing or hard to follow (though in fairness, it is supposed to be kinda confusing for a while, because Kali-Ona, Darren, and co. are also confused).


End file.
